Who knew after leaving this small town that I would be returning to photograph a high school classmate’s brother’s and wife’s dog?

Harlori contacted me around Christmas time to purchase a session for her brother and wife, and their dog Zoey, who recently joined their family. And of course, I couldn’t have been more excited! It was almost a reunion of sort (kind of) because I knew her brother from high school but didn’t really know him, haha. So then it was kind of awkward at first, but then not really. Harnoor, and his wife, Avni, were both great about it.

Zoey is a gorgeous 1.5 year old Labradoodle, whose lab and poodle sides were very evident during the shoot. Lab side = rambunctious energy and excitement for everything food/treats-related. Poodle side = very intelligent and quick to learn commands. While Zoey did great with following commands, her puppy (and mischievous) side often took over aka read “I’m bored with getting my photo taken”, so we ended up getting some funny, expressive shots. Which, by the way, I’m completely fine with, because her personality really shows through!

Aside from having a self-imposed rule where she can’t step on wood floors (she’ll leap from carpet to carpet), she also needs some “gentle pushing” when going up the stairs (see example photo below). She also lays loving on an Ottomon chair but only with the front half of her body, while remaining standing on her hind legs (that can’t be comfortable!), and demands being petted by sticking her head in between your legs!

When Laura and Scott were sharing with me all of her quirks, I was like okay, she can’t be that weird, but then I saw what they meant during our session. 😂 If anything, I think it’s her quirks that make her so lovable. Do your pets have quirks? If so, what are they?

P.S. Thanks Laura and Scott for such a sweet session; Ramona was so much fun to photograph! :)

When I hear the name Gus, I immediately think of the goofy mouse character found in Disney’s Cinderella. I still haven’t concluded whether it’s the name that defines the individual, or if it’s the individual’s personality that defines the name. Either way, Gus the Labradoodle was absolutely what I thought a Gus would be—goofy, sweet, and happy!

On a sad note, Gus’ cancer recently came back from remission, making for a bittersweet session :/ Despite being on medication that caused him to be overheated easily, he was a great sport during the entire time! Gina and Jeff, thank you for spending your afternoon with me, and I hope these images bring you some joy.
Gus has super expressive eyes, and immediately perks up when you say, “Do you want to go for a….(walk, etc)”? So cute!
Gus not cooperating with what we wanted him to do–and laughing about it. ;p